Marriott Marquis San Francisco – Great Service

I stayed at the Marriott Marquis San Francisco in downtown San Francisco for five days in May.

The Marriott Marquis San Franciscol is only about half an hour away from the San Francisco International Airport, and is close to the Powell Bart Station as well as to a number of bus, street car (tram) and cable car lines.

We are Marriott Gold (Elite) members so they upgraded us to a king size corner room. The room was spacious with a very comfortable king-sized bed. And located, as the name indicates, in a corner.

However, I woke up to the sounds of howling, growling, thumping, grilling and more, and when I looked out there was construction work on both sides down below. We asked the Front Desk whether they could get us a new room that was quieter and they sure did. But, alas, that room was located on an even lower floor and therefore noisier than the previous one.

The Front Desk did not ask us to take the room; they merely asked us to take a look at it and tell them whether we like it, so we decided to say no. They gave us another room, and then yet another room to look.

We took the fourth room which was much, much quieter.

It was a queen double room on the 19 ^th floor.

Room Facilities

The room was equipped with the quintessential coffee machine, a refrigerator, an ironing board and an iron. The TV had enough and more channels, and there was a safe as well.

The bathroom was fully equipped with soaps and the toiletries. We had run out of our travel toothpaste and the Front Desk provided some which, interestingly, came in sachets and looked more like ketchup sachets.

One of the oddities was the two rather small slots in the tub wall to keep the soap. Sure, the soap fit in but its location and accessibility was not the best.

There was one table lamp between the beds and that had a power outlet for charging. The main desk in the room also had a table lamp with an outlet.

There was also no bottled water in the room but this seems to go with the generally environmentally friendly concept in California. Instead of the bottled water, they had dispensers with water that was 'seven times purified and chilled' in the access-restricted Lounge and in the first floor, so this was a better solution.

The room's blinds were tight and let almost no outside light in.

One of the unique tools I saw in the room was a portable hybrid notebook to access the hotel's facilities and much more. This was, well, cool.

The Lounge

As we are Elite members we had access to the Lounge on the 2 ^nd floor.

Breakfast is served from 6.30 till 9.30. There was eggs (both yellow and white from cage-free chickens), grilled bacon and potatoes as warm food. Boiled eggs, oatmeal, croissants, cookies and fresh fruits along with bread was also offered. Of course, there was tea, coffee and milk along with pop.

In the afternoons there was again warm food. I went there only once, and on that day there was salmon in lemon sauce, rice pilaf and rapini greens. There was also salami, ham and a few varieties of cheese along with fruits, vegetables and more.

Afterwards, it is mostly desserts and then cold items such as like yoghurt.

Beer can be ordered in the evening and then there is wine, delivered through the Wine Station - a wine automat. One can choose between the eight varieties of wine available, pay up and then hold the glass below to get the wine.

The View

The View is on the top - the 39 ^th - floor of the hotel and is meant to give you a great view of the city while you enjoy a drink or two with possibly some snacks.

I went there twice but both times it was very crowded so I left.

The Hotel

It is a massive hotel, with 39 floors and about 1500 rooms. There are three sets of elevators to take to the different levels of rooms - the lower level, middle level and higher levels. Compared to the number of rooms the staff in the lobby was minimal but it did not mean the service level was poor. In fact, this was one of the best hotels in terms of staff professionalism and the willingness to help.

The professionalism with which the Front Desk staff tried to help us get a better room was a proof of their service levels. They also extended by check-out time up to 1 pm.

Also, the concierges were fantastic - whether it was directions to go somewhere, take a trip or find a restaurant, they always had good tips.

There were computers outside the 2 ^nd floor Lounge and in the lobby that we could use to check emails or print boarding passes. As Elite members, it was free for me.

The hotel has no pool to my knowledge but has a gym which I could not use (I spent a lot of time walking - one day walked along the Golden Gate Bridge and then from the Fisherman's Wharf to the hotel).

I also did not use the restaurants.